Back when I started in media (1984) I learned a way to hand-calculate combined reach/frequency. Say adding together a tv and radio schedule. I unlearned it over the years, especially when I had software that did it for me.
Now I don't have the software anymore and have been asked to do a combined R/F. Do you have that formula?
Thanks.

We have put together a campaign consiting of print & television in a few spot markets. Is it possible to determine the reach & frequency for those persons who will only see the TV and only see the print? How is it possible to know who has seen only print & only TV?

The Media Guru Answers(Saturday, June 11, 2005 ):

Calculate TV reach

Calculate print Reach

calculate combined reach (presumably, you have gotten this far)

Now it's simply addition and subtraction:

Suppose you have found the following:

TV reach = 50Print Reach = 40Combined reach = 70.

Therefore, 20 reach points of the print are added to TV (saw only print) and 20 duplicated (also saw) TV.

Further, 30 points of the TV are added to print (saw TV only), and that same 20 points as above are duplicated.

Dear Guru,
I encounter some more questions which I am unsure. I learnt that we can calculate combined reach of different media vehicles in one medium and combined reach of different media (e.g. TV, Magazine etc.) and same for frequency.
However, how can I applied tohse in an advertising flowchart? where I need to indicate monthly reach, monthly frequency and GRPs for different media vehicles+media (?) To do it manually, do we really calculate first combined reach and frequency of all media vehicles within 1 medium first than use the final combined reach % to calculate with other media to get the Montly reach & frequency & grps in the adv flowchart....it will be quite tedious....I am confused...please help!

The Media Guru Answers(Sunday, March 09, 2003 ):

The Guru does not understand your confusion. You say you understand how to calculate the reach of several vehicles in one medium and how to combine the reaches of several media.

One thing you must understand is that reach is always calculated over a specified period of time. The standard period is four weeks. Often, when print is the only medium involved, one month is used because this is virtually the same as four weeks and monthly magazines fit readily. However, it should be recognized that variations in issue dates muddy the time cycle, and that monthly magazines' audiences cume over a longer period than one month.

In any case, whether the flow chart is divided into 12 months or 13 four-week periods, the process is simply a matter of looking at the schedule that will run in each of these periods and calculating the R/F/GRP for each. The is not any kind of standard that establishes that a flow chart should show R&F for every month. When schedules are fairly consistent, it is probably more common to show the average 4-week R&F within each quarter, or whatever is needed to give a clear understanding of the plan's communications levels.